Systems and methods for collection, management, and distribution of data using a crowdsourced knowledge database

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for collection, management, and distribution of data with a crowdsourced knowledge data base are disclosed. The systems and methods may be configured for: storing information in a standardized format in one or more network-based databases having a collection of records stored thereon; providing remote access to users over a network so any one of the users can update the information about a record in the collection of records in real time through a graphical user interface, wherein the one of the users provides the updated information in a non-standardized format; converting the updated information into the standardized format; storing the standardized updated information in the database in the standardized format; generating a message containing the updated information whenever one has been stored; and transmitting the message to all of the users over the network in real time, so that each user has immediate access to up-to-date information.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/825,574 (now allowed) filed on Mar. 20, 2020, which is herebyincorporated by reference in the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to computerized methods andsystems for collection, management, and distribution of data with acrowdsourced knowledge database. In particular, embodiments of thepresent disclosure relate to inventive and unconventional systems thatmanage a crowdsourced knowledge database to facilitate collection anddistribution of knowledge among a large number of sources.

BACKGROUND

Over the course of a person's life, as one goes through a wide varietyof experiences, the person gains various insights that may be helpfulfor future activities. The person may share these insights with othersthrough various means such as ordinary conversations, writings, advices,and demonstrations. People that learn the insights also, in turn, sharethem with others, leading to an organic transfer of knowledge.

Peer-to-peer knowledge transfer via direct interactions between peopleis often the most accurate means of transferring knowledge. However, itsreach is limited to a small network of people that interacted with theoriginal knowledge bearer. Reaching more people requires the recipientsto share the knowledge with other people, which can introduce falsememories (both intentional and unintentional) or cause the knowledge todeviate from its initial state. Books, media, and the Internet hassubstantially expanded the reach of knowledge transfer, but transfer ofknowledge through such means flows largely from a knowledge bearer torecipients, where the recipient is unable to share his/her knowledgewith the benefactor.

Some have attempted to solve these shortcomings through a technicalsolution enabled by advances in information technology and widespreadadoption of computers. A web forum or a group chat room are commonexamples of such efforts, where participants can share informationfreely. However, information shared in these virtual forums are oftenaccompanied by large amounts of noise (e.g., off-topic conversations).People share information in non-standardized ways (e.g., different wordsto mean the same thing, different syntax, typeo), which makes organizingand searching for a particular topic difficult. The forums may quicklyspin out of control with only a handful of bad actors in the absence ofmoderators. They may enable false information to spread without check.Some knowledge may be lost over time because they are not circulated tonew participants. Existing participants have already acquired theknowledge and may not be aware that the new participants have not, whilethe new participants are simply oblivious to the fact that suchknowledge even existed.

The same difficulties arise within a company, where the company may wishto promote efficient and accurate transfer of knowledge between itsworkers. Without an effective means of preserving a veteran worker'sknow-hows and disseminating them to the rest of the workers, the companywill need to expend a lot of resources to relearn the same knowledgeover and over.

Therefore, there is a need for a network-based knowledge managementsystem and method that collect, convert, and consolidate knowledge aboutdifferent matters from various members at geographically dispersed areasinto a standardized format.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented system for collection, management, and distributionof data with a crowdsourced knowledge database. The system may comprise:a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured toexecute the instructions. The instructions may comprise: storinginformation in a standardized format about one or more addresses in oneor more network-based non-transitory storage devices having a collectionof geographical records stored thereon; providing remote access to usersover a network so any one of the users can update the information aboutan address in the collection of geographical records in real timethrough a graphical user interface, wherein the one of the usersprovides the updated information in a non-standardized format dependenton a hardware and software platform used by the one of the users;converting the updated information into the standardized format; storingthe standardized updated information about the address in the collectionof geographical records in the standardized format; generating a messagecontaining the updated information about the address whenever updatedinformation has been stored; and transmitting the message to all of theusers over the network in real time, so that each user has immediateaccess to up-to-date information.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented method for collection, management, and distributionof data with a crowdsourced knowledge database. The method may comprise:storing information in a standardized format about one or more addressesin one or more network-based non-transitory storage devices having acollection of geographical records stored thereon; providing remoteaccess to users over a network so any one of the users can update theinformation about an address in the collection of geographical recordsin real time through a graphical user interface, wherein the one of theusers provides the updated information in a non-standardized formatdependent on a hardware and software platform used by the one of theusers; converting the updated information into the standardized format;storing the standardized updated information about the address in thecollection of geographical records in the standardized format;automatically generating a message containing the updated informationabout the address whenever updated information has been stored; andtransmitting the message to all of the users over the network in realtime, so that each user has immediate access to up-to-date information.

Still further, another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented system for collection, management, and distributionof data with a crowdsourced knowledge database. The system may comprise:a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured toexecute the instructions. The instructions may comprise: storinginformation in a standardized format about one or more addresses in oneor more network-based non-transitory storage devices having a collectionof geographical records stored thereon; providing remote access to usersover a network so any one of the users can update the information aboutan address in the collection of geographical records in real timethrough a graphical user interface, wherein the one of the usersprovides the updated information in a non-standardized format dependenton a hardware and software platform used by the one of the users;converting the non-standardized updated information into thestandardized format; storing the standardized updated information aboutthe address in the collection of geographical records in thestandardized format; generating a first message containing the updatedinformation about the address whenever updated information has beenstored; receiving a signal, in response to the first message, approvingthe updated information; generating a second message containing theapproved information about the address in response to the signal; andtransmitting the second message to all of the users over the network inreal time, so that each user has immediate access to up-to-dateinformation.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a network comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1B depicts a sample Search Result Page (SRP) that includes one ormore search results satisfying a search request along with interactiveuser interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts a sample Single Display Page (SDP) that includes aproduct and information about the product along with interactive userinterface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1D depicts a sample Cart page that includes items in a virtualshopping cart along with interactive user interface elements, consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1E depicts a sample Order page that includes items from the virtualshopping cart along with information regarding purchase and shipping,along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary fulfillment centerconfigured to utilize disclosed computerized systems, consistent withthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodimentof a computerized system for collection, management, and distribution ofdata with a crowdsourced knowledge database, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary computerized process forcollection, management, and distribution of data with a crowdsourcedknowledge database, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5B are exemplary embodiments of an overview user interface (UI)with which a user can view records stored in the database, consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6B are exemplary embodiments of a list view UI displaying amore detailed view of records, consistent with the disclosedembodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7C are exemplary embodiments of a knowledge entry view UI withwhich a user can view knowledge entries registered for a particularrecord, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8C are exemplary embodiments of a new knowledge entrysubmission UI with which a user can submit a new knowledge entry,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary embodiment of a knowledge entry management UIdisplaying a list of knowledges submitted by users, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 10A-10B are exemplary embodiments of knowledge entry detail viewUIs, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 11A-11B are exemplary embodiments of admin knowledge entrysubmission UIs, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents and steps illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrativemethods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering,removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, thefollowing detailed description is not limited to the disclosedembodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems andmethods that make up a crowd-sourced database. With the database, thesystems and methods enable efficient transfer of knowledge among a largenumber of users. Specifically, knowledges shared by the users areconverted into a standard format, reviewed by moderators, and stored ina crowd-sourced database, which are then made available to the users inreal-time. The embodiments disclosed herein correspond to a particularuse case in the context of an e-commerce company, utilizing thedisclosed crowd-sourced database for maintaining a repository ofdelivery tips submitted by its delivery workers. However, the disclosedsystems and methods are widely applicable to different use cases, andthe crowd-sourced database may store a variety of information as needed.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a schematic block diagram 100 illustrating anexemplary embodiment of a system comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, system 100 may include avariety of systems, each of which may be connected to one another viaone or more networks. The systems may also be connected to one anothervia a direct connection, for example, using a cable. The depictedsystems include a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101, anexternal front end system 103, an internal front end system 105, atransportation system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B, and 107C, sellerportal 109, shipment and order tracking (SOT) system 111, fulfillmentoptimization (FO) system 113, fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115,supply chain management (SCM) system 117, workforce management system119, mobile devices 119A, 119B, and 119C (depicted as being inside offulfillment center (FC) 200), 3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A,121B, and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123,and labor management system (LMS) 125.

SAT system 101, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, SATsystem 101 may determine whether an order is past its Promised DeliveryDate (PDD) and may take appropriate action, including initiating a neworder, reshipping the items in the non-delivered order, canceling thenon-delivered order, initiating contact with the ordering customer, orthe like. SAT system 101 may also monitor other data, including output(such as a number of packages shipped during a particular time period)and input (such as the number of empty cardboard boxes received for usein shipping). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between differentdevices in system 100, enabling communication (e.g., usingstore-and-forward or other techniques) between devices such as externalfront end system 103 and FO system 113.

External front end system 103, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables external users to interact with one ormore systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments where system 100enables the presentation of systems to enable users to place an orderfor an item, external front end system 103 may be implemented as a webserver that receives search requests, presents item pages, and solicitspayment information. For example, external front end system 103 may beimplemented as a computer or computers running software such as theApache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS),NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, external front end system 103may run custom web server software designed to receive and processrequests from external devices (e.g., mobile device 102A or computer102B), acquire information from databases and other data stores based onthose requests, and provide responses to the received requests based onacquired information.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a paymentsystem. In one aspect, external front end system 103 may comprise one ormore of these systems, while in another aspect, external front endsystem 103 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server,database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one ormore of these systems.

An illustrative set of steps, illustrated by FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E,will help to describe some operations of external front end system 103.External front end system 103 may receive information from systems ordevices in system 100 for presentation and/or display. For example,external front end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages,including a Search Result Page (SRP) (e.g., FIG. 1B), a Single DetailPage (SDP) (e.g., FIG. 1C), a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D), or an Orderpage (e.g., FIG. 1E). A user device (e.g., using mobile device 102A orcomputer 102B) may navigate to external front end system 103 and requesta search by entering information into a search box. External front endsystem 103 may request information from one or more systems in system100. For example, external front end system 103 may request informationfrom FO System 113 that satisfies the search request. External front endsystem 103 may also request and receive (from FO System 113) a PromisedDelivery Date or “PDD” for each product included in the search results.The PDD, in some embodiments, may represent an estimate of when apackage containing the product will arrive at the user's desiredlocation or a date by which the product is promised to be delivered atthe user's desired location if ordered within a particular period oftime, for example, by the end of the day (11:59 PM). (PDD is discussedfurther below with respect to FO System 113.)

External front end system 103 may prepare an SRP (e.g., FIG. 1B) basedon the information. The SRP may include information that satisfies thesearch request. For example, this may include pictures of products thatsatisfy the search request. The SRP may also include respective pricesfor each product, or information relating to enhanced delivery optionsfor each product, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, or the like.External front end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting userdevice (e.g., via a network).

A user device may then select a product from the SRP, e.g., by clickingor tapping a user interface, or using another input device, to select aproduct represented on the SRP. The user device may formulate a requestfor information on the selected product and send it to external frontend system 103. In response, external front end system 103 may requestinformation related to the selected product. For example, theinformation may include additional information beyond that presented fora product on the respective SRP. This could include, for example, shelflife, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in package,handling instructions, or other information about the product. Theinformation could also include recommendations for similar products(based on, for example, big data and/or machine learning analysis ofcustomers who bought this product and at least one other product),answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers,manufacturer information, pictures, or the like.

External front end system 103 may prepare an SDP (Single Detail Page)(e.g., FIG. 1C) based on the received product information. The SDP mayalso include other interactive elements such as a “Buy Now” button, a“Add to Cart” button, a quantity field, a picture of the item, or thelike. The SDP may further include a list of sellers that offer theproduct. The list may be ordered based on the price each seller offerssuch that the seller that offers to sell the product at the lowest pricemay be listed at the top. The list may also be ordered based on theseller ranking such that the highest ranked seller may be listed at thetop. The seller ranking may be formulated based on multiple factors,including, for example, the seller's past track record of meeting apromised PDD. External front end system 103 may deliver the SDP to therequesting user device (e.g., via a network).

The requesting user device may receive the SDP which lists the productinformation. Upon receiving the SDP, the user device may then interactwith the SDP. For example, a user of the requesting user device mayclick or otherwise interact with a “Place in Cart” button on the SDP.This adds the product to a shopping cart associated with the user. Theuser device may transmit this request to add the product to the shoppingcart to external front end system 103.

External front end system 103 may generate a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D).The Cart page, in some embodiments, lists the products that the user hasadded to a virtual “shopping cart.” A user device may request the Cartpage by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on the SRP,SDP, or other pages. The Cart page may, in some embodiments, list allproducts that the user has added to the shopping cart, as well asinformation about the products in the cart such as a quantity of eachproduct, a price for each product per item, a price for each productbased on an associated quantity, information regarding PDD, a deliverymethod, a shipping cost, user interface elements for modifying theproducts in the shopping cart (e.g., deletion or modification of aquantity), options for ordering other product or setting up periodicdelivery of products, options for setting up interest payments, userinterface elements for proceeding to purchase, or the like. A user at auser device may click on or otherwise interact with a user interfaceelement (e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”) to initiate the purchaseof the product in the shopping cart. Upon doing so, the user device maytransmit this request to initiate the purchase to external front endsystem 103.

External front end system 103 may generate an Order page (e.g., FIG. 1E)in response to receiving the request to initiate a purchase. The Orderpage, in some embodiments, re-lists the items from the shopping cart andrequests input of payment and shipping information. For example, theOrder page may include a section requesting information about thepurchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, e-mailaddress, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name,address, phone number, delivery information), shipping information(e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or pickup), payment information(e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), user interfaceelements to request a cash receipt (e.g., for tax purposes), or thelike. External front end system 103 may send the Order page to the userdevice.

The user device may enter information on the Order page and click orotherwise interact with a user interface element that sends theinformation to external front end system 103. From there, external frontend system 103 may send the information to different systems in system100 to enable the creation and processing of a new order with theproducts in the shopping cart.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may be furtherconfigured to enable sellers to transmit and receive informationrelating to orders.

Internal front-end system 105, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables internal users (e.g., employees of anorganization that owns, operates, or leases system 100) to interact withone or more systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments wherenetwork 101 enables the presentation of systems to enable users to placean order for an item, internal front end system 105 may be implementedas a web server that enables internal users to view diagnostic andstatistical information about orders, modify item information, or reviewstatistics relating to orders. For example, internal front-end system105 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software suchas the Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services(IIS), NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, internal front endsystem 105 may run custom web server software designed to receive andprocess requests from systems or devices depicted in system 100 (as wellas other devices not depicted), acquire information from databases andother data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to thereceived requests based on acquired information.

In some embodiments, internal front-end system 105 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, a paymentsystem, an analytics system, an order monitoring system, or the like. Inone aspect, internal front end system 105 may comprise one or more ofthese systems, while in another aspect, internal front end system 105may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server, database-to-database,or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.

Transportation system 107, in some embodiments, may be implemented as acomputer system that enables communication between systems or devices insystem 100 and mobile devices 107A-107C. Transportation system 107, insome embodiments, may receive information from one or more mobiledevices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or thelike). For example, in some embodiments, mobile devices 107A-107C maycomprise devices operated by delivery workers. The delivery workers, whomay be permanent, temporary, or shift employees, may utilize mobiledevices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing the productsordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, the delivery workermay receive a notification on a mobile device indicating which packageto deliver and where to deliver it. Upon arriving at the deliverylocation, the delivery worker may locate the package (e.g., in the backof a truck or in a crate of packages), scan or otherwise capture dataassociated with an identifier on the package (e.g., a barcode, an image,a text string, an RFID tag, or the like) using the mobile device, anddeliver the package (e.g., by leaving it at a front door, leaving itwith a security guard, handing it to the recipient, or the like). Insome embodiments, the delivery worker may capture photo(s) of thepackage and/or may obtain a signature using the mobile device. Themobile device may send information to transportation system 107including information about the delivery, including, for example, time,date, GPS location, photo(s), an identifier associated with the deliveryworker, an identifier associated with the mobile device, or the like.Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (notpictured) for access by other systems in system 100. Transportationsystem 107 may, in some embodiments, use this information to prepare andsend tracking data to other systems indicating the location of aparticular package.

In some embodiments, certain users may use one kind of mobile device(e.g., permanent workers may use a specialized PDA with custom hardwaresuch as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices) while other usersmay use other kinds of mobile devices (e.g., temporary or shift workersmay utilize off-the-shelf mobile phones and/or smartphones).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may associate a user witheach device. For example, transportation system 107 may store anassociation between a user (represented by, e.g., a user identifier, anemployee identifier, or a phone number) and a mobile device (representedby, e.g., an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), anInternational Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), a phone number, aUniversal Unique Identifier (UUID), or a Globally Unique Identifier(GUID)). Transportation system 107 may use this association inconjunction with data received on deliveries to analyze data stored inthe database in order to determine, among other things, a location ofthe worker, an efficiency of the worker, or a speed of the worker.

Seller portal 109, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that enables sellers or other external entities to electronicallycommunicate with one or more systems in system 100. For example, aseller may utilize a computer system (not pictured) to upload or provideproduct information, order information, contact information, or thelike, for products that the seller wishes to sell through system 100using seller portal 109.

Shipment and order tracking system 111, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwardsinformation regarding the location of packages containing productsordered by customers (e.g., by a user using devices 102A-102B). In someembodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request or storeinformation from web servers (not pictured) operated by shippingcompanies that deliver packages containing products ordered bycustomers.

In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may requestand store information from systems depicted in system 100. For example,shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information fromtransportation system 107. As discussed above, transportation system 107may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g.,mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like) that are associated withone or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., adelivery truck). In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system111 may also request information from workforce management system (WMS)119 to determine the location of individual products inside of afulfillment center (e.g., fulfillment center 200). Shipment and ordertracking system 111 may request data from one or more of transportationsystem 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to a device (e.g.,user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.

Fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores information for customerorders from other systems (e.g., external front end system 103 and/orshipment and order tracking system 111). FO system 113 may also storeinformation describing where particular items are held or stored. Forexample, certain items may be stored only in one fulfillment center,while certain other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers.In still other embodiments, certain fulfilment centers may be designedto store only a particular set of items (e.g., fresh produce or frozenproducts). FO system 113 stores this information as well as associatedinformation (e.g., quantity, size, date of receipt, expiration date,etc.).

FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding PDD (promised deliverydate) for each product. The PDD, in some embodiments, may be based onone or more factors. For example, FO system 113 may calculate a PDD fora product based on a past demand for a product (e.g., how many timesthat product was ordered during a period of time), an expected demandfor a product (e.g., how many customers are forecast to order theproduct during an upcoming period of time), a network-wide past demandindicating how many products were ordered during a period of time, anetwork-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expectedto be ordered during an upcoming period of time, one or more counts ofthe product stored in each fulfillment center 200, which fulfillmentcenter stores each product, expected or current orders for that product,or the like.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may determine a PDD for each producton a periodic basis (e.g., hourly) and store it in a database forretrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front end system103, SAT system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111). In otherembodiments, FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one ormore systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101,shipment and order tracking system 111) and calculate the PDD on demand.

Fulfilment messaging gateway (FMG) 115, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives a request or response inone format or protocol from one or more systems in system 100, such asFO system 113, converts it to another format or protocol, and forward itin the converted format or protocol to other systems, such as WMS 119 or3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A, 121B, or 121C, and vice versa.

Supply chain management (SCM) system 117, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions.For example, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of demand for aparticular product based on, for example, based on a past demand forproducts, an expected demand for a product, a network-wide past demand,a network-wide expected demand, a count products stored in eachfulfillment center 200, expected or current orders for each product, orthe like. In response to this forecasted level and the amount of eachproduct across all fulfillment centers, SCM system 117 may generate oneor more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity tosatisfy the forecasted demand for a particular product.

Workforce management system (WMS) 119, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that monitors workflow. For example,WMS 119 may receive event data from individual devices (e.g., devices107A-107C or 119A-119C) indicating discrete events. For example, WMS 119may receive event data indicating the use of one of these devices toscan a package. As discussed below with respect to fulfillment center200 and FIG. 2, during the fulfillment process, a package identifier(e.g., a barcode or RFID tag data) may be scanned or read by machines atparticular stages (e.g., automated or handheld barcode scanners, RFIDreaders, high-speed cameras, devices such as tablet 119A, mobiledevice/PDA 1198, computer 119C, or the like). WMS 119 may store eachevent indicating a scan or a read of a package identifier in acorresponding database (not pictured) along with the package identifier,a time, date, location, user identifier, or other information, and mayprovide this information to other systems (e.g., shipment and ordertracking system 111).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may store information associating one ormore devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or moreusers associated with system 100. For example, in some situations, auser (such as a part- or full-time employee) may be associated with amobile device in that the user owns the mobile device (e.g., the mobiledevice is a smartphone). In other situations, a user may be associatedwith a mobile device in that the user is temporarily in custody of themobile device (e.g., the user checked the mobile device out at the startof the day, will use it during the day, and will return it at the end ofthe day).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may maintain a work log for each userassociated with system 100. For example, WMS 119 may store informationassociated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g.,unloading trucks, picking items from a pick zone, rebin wall work,packing items), a user identifier, a location (e.g., a floor or zone ina fulfillment center 200), a number of units moved through the system bythe employee (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), anidentifier associated with a device (e.g., devices 119A-119C), or thelike. In some embodiments, WMS 119 may receive check-in and check-outinformation from a timekeeping system, such as a timekeeping systemoperated on a device 119A-119C.

3^(rd) party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A-121C, in some embodiments,represent computer systems associated with third-party providers oflogistics and products. For example, while some products are stored infulfillment center 200 (as discussed below with respect to FIG. 2),other products may be stored off-site, may be produced on demand, or maybe otherwise unavailable for storage in fulfillment center 200. 3PLsystems 121A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113(e.g., through FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services (e.g.,delivery or installation) to customers directly. In some embodiments,one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be part of system 100, while inother embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be outsideof system 100 (e.g., owned or operated by a third-party provider).

Fulfillment Center Auth system (FC Auth) 123, in some embodiments, maybe implemented as a computer system with a variety of functions. Forexample, in some embodiments, FC Auth 123 may act as a single sign on(SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100. For example,FC Auth 123 may enable a user to log in via internal front end system105, determine that the user has similar privileges to access resourcesat shipment and order tracking system 111, and enable the user to accessthose privileges without requiring a second log in process. FC Auth 123,in other embodiments, may enable users (e.g., employees) to associatethemselves with a particular task. For example, some employees may nothave an electronic device (such as devices 119A-119C) and may insteadmove from task to task, and zone to zone, within a fulfillment center200, during the course of a day. FC Auth 123 may be configured to enablethose employees to indicate what task they are performing and what zonethey are in at different times of day.

Labor management system (LMS) 125, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores attendance and overtimeinformation for employees (including full-time and part-time employees).For example, LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMA 119,devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.

The particular configuration depicted in FIG. 1A is an example only. Forexample, while FIG. 1A depicts FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system113, not all embodiments require this particular configuration. Indeed,in some embodiments, the systems in system 100 may be connected to oneanother through one or more public or private networks, including theInternet, an Intranet, a WAN (Wide-Area Network), a MAN(Metropolitan-Area Network), a wireless network compliant with the IEEE802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a leased line, or the like. In someembodiments, one or more of the systems in system 100 may be implementedas one or more virtual servers implemented at a data center, serverfarm, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts a fulfillment center 200. Fulfillment center 200 is anexample of a physical location that stores items for shipping tocustomers when ordered. Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided intomultiple zones, each of which are depicted in FIG. 2. These “zones,” insome embodiments, may be thought of as virtual divisions betweendifferent stages of a process of receiving items, storing the items,retrieving the items, and shipping the items. So while the “zones” aredepicted in FIG. 2, other divisions of zones are possible, and the zonesin FIG. 2 may be omitted, duplicated, or modified in some embodiments.

Inbound zone 203 represents an area of FC 200 where items are receivedfrom sellers who wish to sell products using system 100 from FIG. 1A.For example, a seller may deliver items 202A and 202B using truck 201.Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its ownshipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a set of items that arestacked together on the same pallet to save space.

A worker will receive the items in inbound zone 203 and may optionallycheck the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (notpictured). For example, the worker may use a computer system to comparethe quantity of items 202A and 202B to an ordered quantity of items. Ifthe quantity does not match, that worker may refuse one or more of items202A or 202B. If the quantity does match, the worker may move thoseitems (using, e.g., a dolly, a handtruck, a forklift, or manually) tobuffer zone 205. Buffer zone 205 may be a temporary storage area foritems that are not currently needed in the picking zone, for example,because there is a high enough quantity of that item in the picking zoneto satisfy forecasted demand. In some embodiments, forklifts 206 operateto move items around buffer zone 205 and between inbound zone 203 anddrop zone 207. If there is a need for items 202A or 202B in the pickingzone (e.g., because of forecasted demand), a forklift may move items202A or 202B to drop zone 207.

Drop zone 207 may be an area of FC 200 that stores items before they aremoved to picking zone 209. A worker assigned to the picking task (a“picker”) may approach items 202A and 202B in the picking zone, scan abarcode for the picking zone, and scan barcodes associated with items202A and 202B using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B). The picker maythen take the item to picking zone 209 (e.g., by placing it on a cart orcarrying it).

Picking zone 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored onstorage units 210. In some embodiments, storage units 210 may compriseone or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, totes,refrigerators, freezers, cold stores, or the like. In some embodiments,picking zone 209 may be organized into multiple floors. In someembodiments, workers or machines may move items into picking zone 209 inmultiple ways, including, for example, a forklift, an elevator, aconveyor belt, a cart, a handtruck, a dolly, an automated robot ordevice, or manually. For example, a picker may place items 202A and 202Bon a handtruck or cart in drop zone 207 and walk items 202A and 202B topicking zone 209.

A picker may receive an instruction to place (or “stow”) the items inparticular spots in picking zone 209, such as a particular space on astorage unit 210. For example, a picker may scan item 202A using amobile device (e.g., device 119B). The device may indicate where thepicker should stow item 202A, for example, using a system that indicatean aisle, shelf, and location. The device may then prompt the picker toscan a barcode at that location before stowing item 202A in thatlocation. The device may send (e.g., via a wireless network) data to acomputer system such as WMS 119 in FIG. 1A indicating that item 202A hasbeen stowed at the location by the user using device 1198.

Once a user places an order, a picker may receive an instruction ondevice 1198 to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210. Thepicker may retrieve item 208, scan a barcode on item 208, and place iton transport mechanism 214. While transport mechanism 214 is representedas a slide, in some embodiments, transport mechanism may be implementedas one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a cart, a forklift, ahandtruck, a dolly, a cart, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive atpacking zone 211.

Packing zone 211 may be an area of FC 200 where items are received frompicking zone 209 and packed into boxes or bags for eventual shipping tocustomers. In packing zone 211, a worker assigned to receiving items (a“rebin worker”) will receive item 208 from picking zone 209 anddetermine what order it corresponds to. For example, the rebin workermay use a device, such as computer 119C, to scan a barcode on item 208.Computer 119C may indicate visually which order item 208 is associatedwith. This may include, for example, a space or “cell” on a wall 216that corresponds to an order. Once the order is complete (e.g., becausethe cell contains all items for the order), the rebin worker mayindicate to a packing worker (or “packer”) that the order is complete.The packer may retrieve the items from the cell and place them in a boxor bag for shipping. The packer may then send the box or bag to a hubzone 213, e.g., via forklift, cart, dolly, handtruck, conveyor belt,manually, or otherwise.

Hub zone 213 may be an area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags(“packages”) from packing zone 211. Workers and/or machines in hub zone213 may retrieve package 218 and determine which portion of a deliveryarea each package is intended to go to, and route the package to anappropriate camp zone 215. For example, if the delivery area has twosmaller sub-areas, packages will go to one of two camp zones 215. Insome embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., usingone of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Routingthe package to camp zone 215 may comprise, for example, determining aportion of a geographical area that the package is destined for (e.g.,based on a postal code) and determining a camp zone 215 associated withthe portion of the geographical area.

Camp zone 215, in some embodiments, may comprise one or more buildings,one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas, where packages arereceived from hub zone 213 for sorting into routes and/or sub-routes. Insome embodiments, camp zone 215 is physically separate from FC 200 whilein other embodiments camp zone 215 may form a part of FC 200.

Workers and/or machines in camp zone 215 may determine which routeand/or sub-route a package 220 should be associated with, for example,based on a comparison of the destination to an existing route and/orsub-route, a calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route,the time of day, a shipping method, the cost to ship the package 220, aPDD associated with the items in package 220, or the like. In someembodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one ofdevices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Once package220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, a worker and/ormachine may move package 220 to be shipped. In exemplary FIG. 2, campzone 215 includes a truck 222, a car 226, and delivery workers 224A and224B. In some embodiments, truck 222 may be driven by delivery worker224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee that deliverspackages for FC 200 and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by thesame company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200. In some embodiments,car 226 may be driven by delivery worker 224B, where delivery worker224B is a “flex” or occasional worker that is delivering on an as-neededbasis (e.g., seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated bydelivery worker 224B.

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of an interface diagram 300 utilizing a crowd-sourcedknowledge database (KDB) 313. The exemplary embodiment comprisestransportation management system (TMS) 310 in communication with arecipient database 320, a shipment database 330, and a plurality ofdevices (e.g., client devices 340A-340C and admin devices 350A-350B). Insome embodiments, TMS 310 may correspond to one or more of the systemsshown in FIG. 1A such as the transportation system 107. In otherembodiments, TMS 310 may be a separate system in communication with oneor more of the systems shown in FIG. 1A. In some embodiments, recipientdatabase 320 and shipment database 330 may comprise a collection ofexternal databases that communicate with TMS 310, providing TMS 310 withinformation necessary for processing and presenting knowledge storedtherein. In some embodiments, the external databases may correspond toone or more systems shown in FIG. 1A or obtain information from one ormore of the systems. In some embodiments, TMS 310, recipient database320, and shipment database 330 may communicate via one or more public orprivate network connections including the Internet, an intranet, a WAN(Wide-Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan-Area Network), a wirelessnetwork compliant with the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a wirednetwork, or the like.

TMS 310, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computer systemthat aggregates, maintains, and distributes crowd-sourced knowledgegathered from users. In some embodiments, TMS 310 may comprise one ormore processors 311, one or more memories 312 (i.e., non-transitorycomputer-readable media), and a KDB 313. TMS 310 may take the form of aserver, general-purpose computer, a mainframe computer, aspecial-purpose computing device, a distributed computing system, or thelike. TMS 310 may be a standalone system, or it may be part of asubsystem, which may be part of a larger system.

KDB 313 may be configured to store information (i.e., knowledge)collected and accrued over time. In some embodiments, KDB 313 maycomprise one or more hard disk drives, one or more solid state drives,one or more non-transitory memories, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, KDB 313 may also comprise a distributed network ofdatabases providing redundancy, increased storage capacity, and/orability to support multiple users simultaneously.

Information within KDB 313 may be organized in a predeterminedstructure, where each knowledge entry (e.g., a knowledge shared by auser) is assigned to one or more elements of the predeterminedstructure. In the particular use case described herein, for example, KDB313 may be configured to store knowledge shared by delivery workers. Thepredetermined structure may include, for example, a hierarchy, a treestructure, or a class and subclasses in the context of Object-orientedprogramming.

In some embodiments, the information stored within KDB 313 may beorganized by address, where a knowledge entry (e.g., a delivery tipabout a particular address) is assigned to an element within KDB 313corresponding to the particular address. Elements may further beorganized in groups, such as by state, city, or zip codes to facilitateindexing or searching. In further embodiments where one or moreaddresses correspond to units or suites within a community (i.e., agroup of addresses that share a limited number of common entrances suchas a private gated community, building, or apartment), elements in KDB313 may correspond to the individual suites or units, a collection ofwhich may be grouped together within KDB 313. An element thatcorresponds to an address belonging to a single postal unit (e.g., asingle-family home, an apartment unit) may be called a unit element, andan element that corresponds to a community may be called a communityelement. In some embodiments, a knowledge entry may be assigned to agroup of elements such as a group corresponding to a particularcommunity. In such embodiments, the knowledge entry may be called acommunity-level entry and be associated with all of the elements in thegroup. A knowledge entry assigned to a unit element may be called aunit-level entry. For example, a delivery tip about the location of amailroom in a community may be assigned to a community element in KDB313 corresponding to the community, and the delivery tip may beassociated with individual units within the community.

In some embodiments, information on individual elements of KDB 313 maybe initially populated with information from external databases such asrecipient database 320 and shipment database 330. For example, TMS 310may create elements within KDB 313 to correspond to recipient addressesprovided by recipient database 320. The elements may then be associatedwith knowledge entries submitted by delivery workers as they accrueknowledge on particular recipient addresses while delivering packages.Here, TMS 313 may create, modify, or remove elements from KDB 313 asrecipient addresses from recipient database 320 is updated. In someembodiments, TMS 310 may also utilize information pulled from externaldatabases such as shipment database 330 to display useful informationalong with appropriate knowledge entries as to be described below.

In some embodiments, information stored in external databases such asrecipient database 320 and shipment database 330 may have been generatedby one or more systems depicted in FIG. 1A such as shipment authoritytechnology system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111, andfulfillment optimization system 113.

In some embodiments, users may access KDB 313 using a plurality ofdevices such as client devices 340A-340C and admin devices 350A-350Bthrough a network 360. In some embodiments, client devices 340A-340C mayinclude mobile devices 107A-107C described above. Users may accessexisting knowledge entries stored in KDB 313 or submit new knowledgeentry using client devices 340A-340C. Client devices 340A-340C maycomprise any personal computing devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablets, or PCs. In some embodiments, a subset of theusers may access knowledge entries in KDB 313 through admin devices350A-350B in order to manage knowledge entries stored in KDB 313. Admindevices 350A-350B may also comprise any personal computing devices suchas mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, or PCs. In someembodiments, admin devices 350A-350B may be specific devices specializedor dedicated to managing the entries in KDB 313. In addition oralternatively, admin devices 350A-350B may be a subset of client devices340A-340C preauthorized with special privileges or operating in anauthenticated session by an authorized user.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary computerized process 400 forreceiving and distributing a new knowledge entry submitted by a user.Process 400 may be performed by TMS 310 in communication with KDB 313.Process 400 is an exemplary embodiment of a process adopted for aparticular use case in the context of an e-commerce company, utilizingKDB 313 for maintaining a repository of delivery tips submitted by itsdelivery workers. However, aspects of process 400 are widely applicableto different use cases, and process 400 may be modified and adopted toaccommodate other use cases as appropriate.

During normal operation, at step 401, TMS 310 may store, in KDB 313,information associated with one or more addresses in a standardizedformat. As described above with respect to FIG. 3, the information maybe organized in a predetermined structure, where each element of thestructure may correspond to a postal address. In this way, KDB 313 isconfigured to store a collection of geographical records, where eachgeographical record (i.e., an element) corresponds to a postal address.

In some embodiments, the elements may comprise community elements andunit elements, where each community element comprises a group of unitelements that correspond to individual units within a community. Forexample, a community element may correspond to an apartment complex witha single postal address, wherein the community element comprises aplurality of unit elements corresponding to individual residence unitswithin the apartment complex.

In further embodiments, each element may be associated with one or moreknowledge entries representing a delivery tip useful for delivering apackage to the corresponding address. In some embodiments, knowledgeentries may be categorized into different types such as access codeentries, warning toggle entries, or descriptive entries, each of whichwill be described in more detail below. Each knowledge entry maycomprise various types of data such as text, image, video, sound, GPStag, or the like.

At step 402, TMS 310 may provide access to users over network 360, sothat any one of the users can view or update the information stored inKDB 313. In some embodiments, the users may access KDB 313 via clientdevices 340A-340C or admin devices 350A-350B to view existing knowledgeentries, submit new knowledge entries, or manage previously submittedknowledge entries in real time or near real time, even when another usermay be accessing the same knowledge entry. The process and UI with whicha user may access knowledge entries stored in KDB 313 are describedbelow with respect to FIGS. 5-7.

At step 403, TMS 310 may receive an updated information about an addressamong the collection of geographical records. In some embodiments, theupdated information may comprise a new knowledge entry associated withan address with a corresponding element stored in KDB 313. In otherembodiments, the updated information may comprise a modified knowledgeentry associated with an address with a corresponding element stored inKDB 313. The process and UI with which a user may submit updatedinformation are described below with respect to FIGS. 8A-8C.

In some embodiments, the updated information (e.g., new or modifiedknowledge entry) may come in a non-standardized format. As used herein,a knowledge entry in a non-standardized format refers to any entry thatwas submitted without following one or more guidelines for using KDB313. In some embodiments, such guidelines may comprise selecting acorrect category appropriate for the type of knowledge submitted;submitting text data in a prespecified language (e.g., English);submitting images, videos, or audio files that are clearly recognizable;or the like. In some embodiments, a non-standardized information mayalso comprise information unreadable by TMS 310 due to hardware orsoftware mismatch between the submitting client device (e.g., any ofclient device 340A-340C) and TMS 310.

At step 404, TMS 310 may convert the knowledge entry in anon-standardized format into the standardized format. In someembodiments, such conversion may comprise translating any text datasubmitted in a foreign language; adjusting one or more parameters ofimage, video, or audio files to enhance its quality (e.g., changingbrightness or contrast of an image or a video; adjusting volume of anaudio file; removing noise from the image, video, or audio files); orthe like. In further embodiments, TMS 310 may parse the knowledge entry,recognize certain phrases or keywords to determine the type of knowledgesubmitted, and convert the knowledge entry into a correct category. Forexample, TMS 310 may recognize: that a knowledge entry contains anaccess code and convert the entry into an access code entry; or that theentry is instructing a delivery worker not to ring doorbell and convertthe entry into a corresponding warning toggle entry.

At steps 405 and 406, TMS 310 may store the standardized updatedinformation into KDB 313 and generate a request to review thestandardized updated information. Here, TMS 310 may break down thestandardized updated information into individual knowledge entries, eachcorresponding to an element in KDB 313. TMS 310 may then assign eachknowledge entry to respective element, storing them in KDB 313, andgenerate a request to review the knowledge entries (collectively thestandardized update information). In some embodiments, TMS 310 maytransmit such requests to admin devices 350A-350B, in response to whicha user may review and approve or reject one or more knowledge entriesincluded in the standardized updated information. In some embodiments,the reviewing users may be a subset of the users accessing KDB 313and/or bestowed with special privileges for managing contents of KDB313. The process and UI with which the reviewing users access therequests and review the updated information are described below withrespect to FIGS. 9-12. In some embodiments, the reviewing users maysubmit new knowledge entries using admin devices 350A-350B. The processand UI for submitting such new knowledge entries are also describedbelow.

Once a user has reviewed and approved a knowledge entry, admin device350A-350B may generate a signal associated with the approval of theknowledge entry. At step 407, TMS 310 may receive this signal approvingthe knowledge entry (or collectively, standardized updated information).

At steps 408 and 409, in response to the received signal, TMS 310 maygenerate and transmit a message containing the standardized updatedinformation via network 360. In some embodiments, TMS 310 may transmitthe messages as a server push or a push notification, where it is TMS310 that initiates the data transfer rather than the receiving clientdevices 340A-340C. Such embodiments allow TMS 310 to transmit themessage in real time or near real time, so that each user has immediateaccess to up-to-date information.

While the steps of process 400 are described in sequence, it may bedesirable in some embodiments to provide users with an uninterruptedaccess to the information stored in KDB 313. In this way, users arealways able to view knowledge entries or submit new entries at any timethrough client devices 340A-340C, and reviewing users are able to viewrequests for review of knowledge entries at any time through admindevices 350A-350B. Untethering the submission of new knowledge entriesand the review of the new knowledge entries allows each user to continueaccessing the information stored in KDB 313 and give them flexibility incompleting their respective tasks at their schedule. For example, areviewing user may allow multiple requests to accrue before approvingthem.

It is noted, however, that while the users are allowed to submit andreview updated information at their own pace, TMS 310 may process theother steps of process 400 without a delay. For example, once TMS 310receives an updated information at step 403, TMS 310 may convert theupdated information to a standardized format, store the standardizedupdated information, and generate a request to review immediately. Inthis way, a new submission of a knowledge entry may be stored in KDB 313and appear on an admin client (e.g., 350A) for review in real-time. Theuser that submitted the new knowledge entry may also be able to confirmhis/her submission on a client device (e.g., 340A) in real-time.Similarly, once TMS 310 receives the signal approving the standardizedupdated information at step 407, TMS 310 may process the correspondingknowledge entry and have it accessible by any user accessing KDB 313 viaclient devices 340A-340C or admin devices 350A-350B.

FIGS. 5-8 depict embodiments of an exemplary UI for viewing informationstored in KDB 313 along with other useful information received fromexternal databases such as recipient database 320 and shipment database330, consistent with the exemplary use case disclosed herein. It shouldbe noted that while the UIs are depicted as a mobile app, suchimplementation is not exclusive and the UIs may take the form of awebsite, web app, computer application, software developed for adedicated hardware device, or the like. It is also noted that UIsdepicted in FIGS. 5-8 only serve to represent how the UIs may appear fora particular user accessing KDB 313 through a client device (e.g.,340A). The layouts and graphical user interface (GUI) elements depictedin FIGS. 5-8 are only exemplary, and other variations with more or fewerelements or with different layouts are contemplated.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are exemplary embodiments of an overview UI 500 thatdisplays a map 510 of a geographical area. Map 510 may be sourced fromany known map providers such as Google Maps or Apple Maps, or may becustom developed. In some embodiments, overview UI 500 may display themap in a manner substantially similar to third-party map applicationsthat users may be accustomed to, which may lower the learning curve formany users because they are already used to the interface.

In some embodiments, map 510 may display one or more location markers(e.g., 520A-520B). Location markers may appear at the location of adestination on map 510 with a number inside the marker (e.g., 5 forlocation marker 520A) that represents the number of packages to bedelivered to or received from the destination. In some embodiments, onelocation marker may represent a plurality of destinations that are inclose proximity to each other. In this case, the number inside themarker may represent the number of destinations that the location makerrepresents. For example, location marker 520C of FIG. 5B has number 6,which represents the number of destinations that the user must visit.

Referring to FIG. 5B, overview UI 500 is modified to show a list pane530 that displays information on the destinations represented bylocation marker 520C. In some embodiments, the color of location marker520C may change to signify that the information shown on list pane 530corresponds to location marker 520C. Other embodiments may use othermethods of visual identification to signify the selection.

In some embodiments, list pane 530 comprises a group summary bar 531 anddestination summaries 540A-540C. Group summary bar 531 may displaydifferent parameters related to a particular location marker (e.g.,location marker 520C), which can include the number of destinationsrepresented by the location marker (e.g., 6 for location marker 520C),the total number of packages to be delivered to the destinationsrepresented by the location marker (e.g., 10 for location marker 520C),and the total number of packages to be picked up from the destinationfor return (e.g., 3 for location marker 520C).

Turning to destination summaries 540A-540C, each destination summary maycorrespond to an element in KDB 313 associated with a particular postaladdress. For example, destination summary 540A corresponds to an elementassociated with 165 W. Charles St. #1205, New York, N.Y. Eachdestination summary (e.g., 540A) may also display other relatedinformation received from external databases such as recipient database320 and shipment database 330 described above. For example, destinationsummary 540A may display the name of the customer associated with theaddress and the number of packages to be delivered and picked up at theaddress. In some embodiments, list pane 530 may further comprise scrollarrow 532 to represent that a portion of information shown in list pane530 is outside of overview UI 500.

In some embodiments, destination summary 540A may also display differenticons (e.g., 541 and 542) that represent presence of one or moreknowledge entries associated with the address. For example, a lightbulbicon 541 may represent that there is at least one knowledge entryassociated with the address and a key icon 542 may represent that thereis at least one knowledge entry for an access code to get to theaddress. In some embodiments, selecting either lightbulb icon 541 or keyicon 542 may display the corresponding knowledge entry stored in KDB313.

In further embodiments, destination summary 540A may also display adetail button 543, which the user can select to display a more detailedinformation about the corresponding destination. It is important to notethat, while all three destination summaries 540A-540C of FIG. 5Bincludes both lightbulb icon 541 and key icon 542, the presence of iconsis based on the type of knowledge entry associated with thecorresponding element in KDB 313. For example, a destination summary foran address that does not have any associated knowledge entry in KDB 313would not include any of the icons.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are exemplary embodiments of a list view UI 600 fordisplaying a more detailed view of destinations. In some embodiments,the user may switch between overview UI 500 and list view UI 600 byselecting a button (not shown) to choose a desired UI. Referring to FIG.6A, list view UI 600 may serve as an alternative layout for displayingelements stored in KDB 313, where the records that appear upon selectionof a location marker (e.g., 520C) are displayed in a list of destinationdetail panes 610A and 610B. In some embodiments, the user may be able tosearch for a particular element, filter certain elements, or refresh thedisplayed information using control buttons 601. For ease of descriptionand comparison, the element shown in destination detail pane 610A is thesame element shown in destination summary 540A of FIG. 5B.

In some embodiments, destination detail pane 610A may comprise an accesscode section 611, an icon section 612, and a top entry section 613 alongwith basic information such as the name of the recipient at thedestination and the address. Access code section 611 may display knownaccess codes necessary for reaching the destination address. In someembodiments, information displayed in access code section 611 mayinclude those from access code entries associated with the unit elementcorresponding to the destination address or the community elementassociated with the unit element. For example, an access code entryassociated with the corresponding unit element in KDB 313 may contain anaccess code necessary for opening a mailbox at the destination. Inanother example, the unit element may be an apartment unit inside anapartment complex with a corresponding community element that has anaccess code entry for the main entrance access code. In this case,access code section 611 may display two access codes, one for the mainentrance and the other for the mailbox.

Icon section 612 may display various icons that indicate presence of oneor more knowledge entries (e.g., with the lightbulb icon) and warningtoggle entries (e.g., with the “no bell” and “no knock” icons). Iconsection 612 may display such icons based on knowledge entries associatedwith the unit element and/or the community element corresponding to thedestination. For example, the “no bell” icon and the “no knock” icondepicted in FIG. 6A indicates that the corresponding unit element and/orthe community element have respective warning toggle entries. In someembodiments, warning toggle entries may include common warnings such asno bell, no knocking, pets present, etc. In some embodiments, presenceof a lightbulb icon may indicate that there are knowledge entriesassociated with the destination, which may prompt the user to refer tothe knowledge entries.

Top entry section 613 may display snippets of the most used descriptiveentries so that they are readily observable by the user withoutnavigating deeper into the UI as depicted in FIG. 6B. In someembodiments where there are only a couple of knowledge entriesassociated with the destination and all of them are displayed in topentry section 613, icon section 612 may remove the lightbulb iconbecause no other entries are available.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the user may select a destination displayed indestination detail pane (e.g., 610A) to display a destination detail UI620. Destination detail UI 620 may display all information available fora particular destination and present options for submitting newknowledge entries. In some embodiments, destination detail UI 620 mayinclude a new entry section 621, an access code entry section 623, adescriptive entry section 625, and a warning toggle entry section 627.

New entry section 621 may include a button for submitting a newknowledge entry as well as knowledge entry count 622 that displays thenumber of knowledge entries associated with a community element and aunit element corresponding to the currently selected destination. Theprocess and UI for submitting a new knowledge entry are described belowwith respect to FIG. 8A-8C.

Access code entry section 623, descriptive entry section 625, andwarning toggle entry section 627 each display respective categories ofknowledge entries associated with the community element and the unitelement corresponding to the currently selected destination. In someembodiments, access code entry section may also include submit a newcode button 624 so that the user may add an access code quickly. In someembodiments, descriptive entry section 625 may be divided into differentsections that display different descriptive entries associated with thecommunity element and the unit element. In further embodiments,descriptive entry section 625 may also include a section for displayingrecipient-submitted requests. Recipient-submitted requests may refer tospecific type of knowledge entries submitted to KDB 313 through admindevices 350A-350B that reflect requests manually requested by therecipient of the currently selected destination.

UI elements for knowledge entries depicted in FIGS. 6A-6B are configuredto be displayed in response to a user's interaction with the UIs. Insome embodiments, however, TMS 310 may configure certain knowledgeentries to appear without any interaction from the user. Such knowledgeentries may appear as a notification on client device 340A-340C based onthe location of the client device. The location may be sensed by anymeans of determining a geographical location such as a GPS sensor,cellular triangulation, Bluetooth location tracking, or the like. Forexample, a knowledge entry associated with a particular address may popup on a client device as a notification when the user approaches theaddress. The knowledge entries displayed in this manner may be thoseconsidered critical to a successful completion of a task or thosepreconfigured to be displayed. This process of displaying certainknowledge entries may allow even non-regular users or users that do not“drill down” to review each individual knowledge entry to take note ofimportant knowledge entries.

FIGS. 7A-7C depict different layouts of knowledge entry view UI, whichdisplays different knowledge entries associated with a particulardestination. In some embodiments, the UIs depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C mayappear when a user selects the entry count 622 shown in FIG. 6B. A usermay switch between the different layouts depicted in FIGS. 7A-7C byselecting the desired tab in a view selection tab 701.

FIG. 7A depicts a community-level entry view UI 700A, which displays allcommunity-level entries associated with the currently selecteddestination. For example, the community element associated with thedestination depicted in FIG. 7A has 9 community-level entries in KDB313. In some embodiments, community-level entry view UI 700A may displayeach of the entries in sequence along with detailed informationincluding its title (711), description (712), any image/video/audioattachment (713), and helpfulness metric (714). In some embodiments,helpfulness metric 714 may be the number of times other users haveindicated that a particular knowledge entry is helpful. In someembodiments, the knowledge entry view UIs depicted in FIGS. 7A and 7Bmay display relevant knowledge entries in the order of their helpfulnessmetrics. Other methods of sorting the entries are also equalityapplicable, such as sorting by the date of submission, most comments, orthe like. In some embodiments, helpfulness metric 714 may be used as anincentive to promote submission of new and helpful knowledge entries.

FIG. 7B depicts a unit-level entry view UI 700B, which displays allunit-level entries associated with the currently selected destination.For example, the unit element corresponding to the destination depictedin FIG. 7B has no unit-level entries in KDB 313. In this case,unit-level entry view UI 700B may simply display a blank screen or anotice 720. In other exemplary cases where there are unit-level entries,unit-level entry view UI 700B may display the unit-level entries in amanner similar to community-level entry view UI 700A of FIG. 7A.

In further embodiments, community-level entry view UI 700A and/orunit-level entry view UI 700B may provide a way for users to reportincorrect or improper knowledge entries or leave comments as desired.Such feature may promote a sense of self-policing or a community amongthe users who are otherwise strangers. In some embodiments, TMS 310 maydetermine that certain knowledge entries are obsolete or irrelevant.Such determination may be based on the age of the entries, level ofinteraction (e.g., comments, likes) received from users, or anycombination thereof. TMS 310 may decide to display these entries afterother more helpful or recent entries or remove them from view.Additionally or alternatively, TMS 310 may generate a request to reviewsuch obsolete knowledge entries

FIG. 7C depicts a user-submitted entry view UI 700C, which displays alluser-submitted entries associated with the currently selecteddestination and submitted by the current user. For example, there aretwo user-submitted entries submitted by the current user as depicted inFIG. 7C. As used herein, user-submitted entries are those that TMS 310received at step 403 of FIG. 4 but have not been reviewed and approvedby a reviewing user at step 407. In some embodiments, user-submittedentry view UI 700C may display the user-submitted entries in theoriginal version as submitted or in the standardized format converted atstep 404. In some embodiments, each user-submitted entries are displayedwith detailed information such as its title (731), entry level (732),submission date (733), description (734), and any attachment (735). Insome embodiments, user-submitted entry view UI 700C may also displaydelete icon 736 next to each user-submitted entry. The user may selectdelete icon 736 at any time to cancel submission of the entry and removeit from KDB 313.

FIGS. 8A-8C depict exemplary embodiments of a new knowledge entrysubmission UI 800. A user may use this UI to submit a new knowledgeentry as described above with respect to FIG. 4. TMS 310 may thenprocess the new knowledge entry and request it for review as alsodescribed above. In some embodiments, new knowledge entry submission UI800 may determine the appropriate element to which the new knowledgeentry should be assigned based on context. For example, when newknowledge entry submission UI 800 is displayed in response to a userinput while the user was accessing knowledge entries assigned to aparticular destination, new knowledge entry submission UI 800 maydetermine that the new knowledge entry should be assigned to an elementin KDB 313 corresponding to the current destination. In otherembodiments, new knowledge entry submission UI 800 may use location datafrom the client device (e.g., 340A) or request a manual input of anaddress from the user.

Referring to FIG. 8A, new knowledge entry submission UI 800 maygenerally comprise three sections: an entry level selection section 810,a description section 820, and an attachment section 830. Each sectionmay be configured to receive corresponding input from the user as areapparent from the UI elements depicted. Once an entry is complete, theuser may select a submit button 840 to transmit the knowledge entry toTMS 310, which will receive the knowledge entry at step 403 of FIG. 4and begin subsequent processes described above. FIGS. 8B and 8C depict anew knowledge entry submission UI 800 after a user has entered someinput. For example, a radio button 811 of FIG. 8B is highlighted toindicate that the current knowledge entry should be assigned to acommunity-level element. An attachment 831 of FIG. 8C displays a previewof an image or video to be submitted with the knowledge entry.

In some embodiments, TMS 310 may use the description entered intodescription section 820 to convert the knowledge entry into astandardized format at step 404 of FIG. 4. As described above, TMS 310may parse the description to identify certain phrases or keywords thatindicate that the knowledge entry should be categorized as an accesscode entry or a warning toggle entry instead of a descriptive entry.

FIGS. 9-12 depict embodiments of an exemplary UI for reviewing knowledgeentries submitted by users, consistent with the exemplary use casedisclosed herein. It should be noted that while the UIs are depicted asa software application, such implementation is not exclusive and the UIsmay take the form of a website, web app, software developed for adedicated hardware device, or the like. It is also noted that UIsdepicted in FIGS. 9-12 only serve to represent how the UIs would appearfor a particular user accessing KDB 313 through an admin device (e.g.,350A). The layouts and GUI elements depicted in FIGS. 9-12 are onlyexemplary, and other variations with more or fewer elements or withdifferent layouts are contemplated.

FIG. 9 depicts a knowledge entry management UI 900 displaying a list ofknowledge entries submitted by users. Knowledge entry management UI 900may comprise a search toolbar 901, admin submission buttons 902, and arecords table 900 of knowledge entry records. In some embodiments,search toolbar 901 may comprise various GUI elements (e.g., textbox,dropdown list, checkbox, date selector, etc.) that allow a user tospecify certain criteria to display a subset of knowledge entries in KDB313. Possible criteria are shown in search toolbar 901 (e.g., warehouse,route, invoice ID, etc.), but any information comprising a knowledgeentry may be specified. Admin submission buttons 902 may be GUI elementsthat allow a user to submit new knowledge entries through knowledgeentry management UI 900. Details of such process and associated UIs willbe discussed below with respect to FIGS. 11A and 11B.

In some embodiments, records table 910 may display a subset of knowledgeentries stored in KDB 313 based on the search criteria specified viasearch toolbar 901. Records table 910 may display each knowledge entryin rows with relevant information (e.g., review status, address, accesscode, delivery tip, user submitted, and date submitted). Alternativearrangements and displayed information are also contemplated. In someembodiments, different knowledge entry types such as an access codeentry 920 and a descriptive entry 930 may be shown with a similarcomposition of information except for their respective contentsassociated therewith.

In some embodiments, access code entry 920 may display, in addition toother information such as status, address, user submitted, and datesubmitted, access code entry contents 921. Access code entry contents921 may indicate whether access code entry 920 is a community-levelentry or a unit-level entry, the new access code submitted in thecorresponding knowledge entry, and the previous access code ifavailable. For example, access code entry 920 depicted in FIG. 9indicates that it is a community-level entry showing an access code of aparticular community (e.g., front gate access code of an apartmentcomplex), that the previous access code was 9049#, and that the newaccess code (whether because the community changed it or the previouscode was wrong) is 3030#.

Similarly, descriptive entry 930 may display, in addition to otherinformation common with access code entry 920, descriptive entrycontents 931. Descriptive entry contents 931 may indicate whetherdescriptive entry 930 is a community-level entry or a unit-level entryand a title/keywords of the descriptive entry 930. In some embodiments,descriptive entry 930 may also display one or more attached images 932if available.

A user may click on each knowledge entry to review details of itscontents individually (as explained below with respect to FIGS. 10A and10B) or select multiple entries using a checkbox 912 next to each entryto approve or deny the selected entries using quick action buttons 913.In some embodiments, a user may switch an approved knowledge entry tobeing denied, or vice versa based on different factors, including butnot limited to helpfulness metric 714 discussed above.

FIGS. 10A-10B depict different versions of knowledge entry detail viewUIs 1000A and 1000B. Knowledge entry detail view UIs 1000A and 1000B mayappear in response to a user's selection of a knowledge entry displayedin records table 910. For illustrative purposes, knowledge entry detailview UI 1000A may represent a UI for displaying an access code entry(e.g., 920), and knowledge entry detail view UI 1000B may represent adescriptive entry (e.g., 930).

Referring to FIG. 10A, knowledge entry detail view UI 1000A may compriseentry details table 1010A. Entry details table 1010A may display variousinformation associated with the currently displayed knowledge entryalong with the access code submitted with the current knowledge entry.The submitted access code may be displayed in an access code box 1012,and a dropdown list 1011 may indicate whether the current knowledgeentry is community-level or unit-level. In some embodiments, a user maybe able to modify the submitted access code or the level using accesscode box 1012 or dropdown list 1011, respectively, or approve or denythe current knowledge entry using decision buttons 1020.

In some embodiments, knowledge entry detail view UI 1000A also comprisean entry type navigation bar 1030A, and a past entry records 1040A. Pastentry records table 1040A may display past knowledge entries of the sametype selected on entry type navigation bar 1030A (i.e., community-levelaccess code entries for FIG. 10A) that are available for the addressassociated with the current knowledge entry (e.g., “2232 Charles St. NE,New York, N.Y.” in FIG. 10A). A user may be able to toggle betweendifferent types of knowledge entries by selecting a desired type onentry type navigation bar 1030A.

For example, past entry records table 1040B in FIG. 10B shows past entryrecords of community-level descriptive entries available for the sameaddress, as indicated by the bold text in entry type navigation bar1030B. Knowledge entry detail view UI 1000B is also changed to show acommunity-level descriptive entry associated with the same address.

In some embodiments, knowledge entry detail view UI 1000B of FIG. 10B,now showing a descriptive entry instead of an access code entry as inFIG. 10A, may further comprise additional GUI elements configured todisplay the contents of the descriptive entry. For example, entrydetails table 1010B may comprise, in addition to the common elementsdropdown list 1011 and decision buttons 1020, a title box 1013, anexplanation box 1014, and one or more submitted attachments 1015.

FIGS. 11A-11B depict admin knowledge entry submission UIs 1100A and1100B, which may appear in response to a user input selecting adminsubmission buttons 902. Admin submission buttons 902 may be configuredto allow a user to submit a new knowledge entry for an address based oninformation gathered from business operations (e.g., an apartmentcomplex may arrange with a delivery company to provide itscommunity-level access code or instructions for delivery workers), viaadmin knowledge entry submission UI 1100A, or directly received fromrecipients, via admin knowledge entry submission UI 1100B.

Referring to FIG. 11A, admin knowledge entry submission UI 1100A maycomprise a search box 1101 and an admin entry details table 1110. Insome embodiments, search box 1101 may allow a user to input differentparameters (e.g., keywords, identifiers, an address, etc.) to identify aparticular address or recipient for whom the user wishes to enter aknowledge entry. Once the address or recipient is found, admin entrydetails table 1110 may display associated information as shown, forexample, and provide different GUI elements for the user to entercorresponding information as needed.

FIG. 11B shows another version of admin knowledge entry submission UI1100B for submitting a recipient's request. A recipient's request maycomprise, for example, various warnings 1102 (e.g., no door bell, noknocking, beware of pets) or specific instructions 1103 for delivering apackage. Such requests may be received, for example, via external frontend system 103. In some embodiments, these recipient-provided requestsmay be provided prominently to delivery workers such as descriptiveentry section 625 depicted in FIG. 6B.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that thepresent disclosure can be practiced, without modification, in otherenvironments. The foregoing description has been presented for purposesof illustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. Additionally,although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as beingstored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that theseaspects can also be stored on other types of computer readable media,such as secondary storage devices, for example, hard disks or CD ROM, orother forms of RAM or ROM, USB media, DVD, Blu-ray, or other opticaldrive media.

Computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methodsare within the skill of an experienced developer. Various programs orprogram modules can be created using any of the techniques known to oneskilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existingsoftware. For example, program sections or program modules can bedesigned in or by means of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (andrelated languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++,Objective-C, HTML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML with includedJava applets.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope of any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated bythose skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Thelimitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on thelanguage employed in the claims and not limited to examples described inthe present specification or during the prosecution of the application.The examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. Furthermore, thesteps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, includingby reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. It is intended,therefore, that the specification and examples be considered asillustrative only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims and their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented system for collection,management, and distribution of data with a crowdsourced knowledgedatabase, the system comprising: a memory storing instructions; and atleast one processor configured to execute the instructions for: storinginformation in a standardized format about one or more addresses in oneor more network-based non-transitory storage devices having a collectionof geographical records stored thereon; providing remote access to usersover a network so any one of the users can update the information aboutan address in the collection of geographical records in real timethrough a graphical user interface, wherein the one of the usersprovides the updated information in a non-standardized format dependenton a hardware and software platform used by the one of the users;converting the non-standardized updated information into thestandardized format by: parsing the updated information in thenon-standardized format; recognizing keywords in the updated informationto determine a type of the updated information; and converting theupdated information into the standardized format associated with thedetermined type; storing the standardized updated information about theaddress in the collection of geographical records in the standardizedformat; generating a first message containing the updated informationabout the address whenever updated information has been stored;receiving a signal, in response to the first message, approving theupdated information; generating a second message containing the approvedinformation about the address in response to the signal; andtransmitting the second message to a plurality of users over the networkto enable immediate access to up-to-date information.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the one or more discreteentities are organized into a plurality of groups, each group includinga subset of the one or more discrete entities sharing a common trait. 3.The computer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the one or morediscrete entities are associated with geographical locations.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the one or more discreteentities comprise one or more addresses that are organized into aplurality of groups, each group including a subset of the one or moreaddresses sharing a common entry point.
 5. The computer-implementedsystem of claim 1, wherein providing the remote access comprisesreceiving the updated information in the non-standardized format.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 1, wherein the users provide theupdated information using mobile devices with secure connections to theone or more network-based non-transitory storage devices through thenetwork.
 7. The computer-implemented system of claim 1, whereintransmitting the message to the plurality of the users over the networkfurther comprises displaying a notification on the mobile devices basedon a current location of each mobile device.
 8. The computer-implementedsystem of claim 1, wherein the updated information comprises at leastone of text data, image data, or GPS location data.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 1, the instructions furthercomprising: generating a request to review the standardized updatedinformation.
 10. A computer-implemented method for collection,management, and distribution of data with a crowdsourced knowledgedatabase, comprising: storing information in a standardized format aboutone or more addresses in one or more network-based non-transitorystorage devices having a collection of geographical records storedthereon; providing remote access to users over a network so any one ofthe users can update the information about an address in the collectionof geographical records in real time through a graphical user interface,wherein the one of the users provides the updated information in anon-standardized format dependent on a hardware and software platformused by the one of the users; converting the non-standardized updatedinformation into the standardized format by: parsing the updatedinformation in the non-standardized format; recognizing keywords in theupdated information to determine a type of the updated information; andconverting the updated information into the standardized formatassociated with the determined type; storing the standardized updatedinformation about the address in the collection of geographical recordsin the standardized format; generating a first message containing theupdated information about the address whenever updated information hasbeen stored; receiving a signal, in response to the first message,approving the updated information; generating a second messagecontaining the approved information about the address in response to thesignal; and transmitting the second message to a plurality of users overthe network to enable immediate access to up-to-date information. 11.The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the one or morediscrete entities are organized into a plurality of groups, each groupincluding a subset of the one or more discrete entities sharing a commontrait.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the oneor more discrete entities comprise one or more addresses that areorganized into a plurality of groups, each group including a subset ofthe one or more addresses sharing a common entry point.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein providing the remoteaccess comprises receiving the updated information in thenon-standardized format.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim10, wherein the users provide the updated information using mobiledevices with secure connections to the one or more network-basednon-transitory storage devices through the network.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein transmitting themessage to the plurality of the users over the network further comprisesdisplaying a notification on the mobile devices based on a currentlocation of each mobile device.
 16. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 10, wherein the updated information comprises at least one of textdata, image data, or GPS location data.
 17. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 10, further comprising: generating a request to reviewthe standardized updated information.